Obihiro to Sapporo (by train!)

It was great having a rest in the hotel, and we woke up refreshed and ready for a day of exploring Obihiro on foot. We decided to stay another night in the same room so we wouldn't have to pack everything up again (moving 12 waterproof bags and a chariot that only fits through doorways while empty and held on its side is no small endeavour).  I went down to reception to make the reservation only to find that the hotel was booked out.  No bother, I'll try another... And the next one was full too.  And the next.  It turned out every hotel was booked out for a soccer tournament.  With our rest day starting to evaporate before our eyes, it was decision time.  The nearest campsite was fifteen kms away and we just didn't have it in us after being psyched up for sightseeing.  So we decided to fast track our plans and jump on a westward train to Sapporo so we could find some attractions for the kids and have a change of scenery.  "Jumping on a train" entailed me riding almost ten kms around town until I found a bike shop with the regulation size bike bags necessary for our bikes to be permitted on the train, and Bron having to disassemble both bikes to fit them in.  Fortunately the JR station staff were extremely helpful and got us on the train in time.
We arrived in Sapporo about nine at night only to find that every hotel was booked out as well for a long weekend.  Big problem.  Long story short: we were in a bad way and around eleven at night, with me trying in vain to talk to the police with Bella asleep in my arms and Bron minding Finn and all our gear on the floor of the train station, we dodged a bullet when Bron attracted the attention of an English speaking Frenchman who kindly led us to a youth hostel where there were supposed to be free beds.  There weren't, so we set up in a corridor and prepared to sleep in shifts until morning.  The kindness of strangers came to our aid once more when a Japanese speaking French girl offered us the key to her tatami room.  Needles to say, we were very relieved and vowed to avoid public holidays in the city in future!